Lumberjacks Chop Bobcats in Second Half

Texas State played a terrific first 15 minutes against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, but the final 25 minutes were what caused the ‘Cats to fall 77-70 in San Marcos. The Bobcats led by as much as 10 points late in the 1st half with no signs of letting up, but that would change. The 1st half ended with backup SFA point guard, Denzel Barnes, nailing a three-point basket at the buzzer to cut the Bobcat lead to 5. The shot was very reminiscent to the game-winning shot at Nicholls last Saturday. However, he Bobcats went into halftime Wednesday playing well as they forced 10 turnovers on a Lumberjack team that averages 13 on the season. They were also out-rebounding and out-shooting the 'Jacks from the field, 43% to 32%. The 1st half belonged to Texas State and all the 2,000+ fans in Strahan Coliseum.

The next 20 minutes were a completely different story from top to bottom on many different accounts, and we’re going to list them.

1.) Texas State stopped playing that tough defense which got them their lead in the first place. SFA came out in the second half pounding the ball inside to Jareal Scott, and they reeled off several baskets early in the half to give them the lead

2.) The Bobcats started to turn the ball over in both the half-court and transition offense. Texas State’s turnover numbers doubled from 8 to 16, while the Lumberjacks went from 10 turnovers to 14.

3.) A poor spell of free throw shooting was magnified in a bad way for the 'Cats. They went 7-9 from the line in the 1st half, then turned around and missed 6 free throws in the second to finish 10 of 18.

4.) Texas State's supporting cast did not really show up. Aside from Bidias A’ Moute’s 15 points and 6 rebounds off the bench no one else really had a game. Jonathan Sloan and J.B. Conley, both of whom started, combined for 0 points, 2 rebounds and 1 turnover. On the other hand, SFA had five players in double figures.

The ‘Cats just played a poor second half, and that is what cost them. They went into the game tied with UTSA at 6-6 in conference play but after the loss, and UTSA’s win, Texas State is now a full game behind the Roadrunners. In individual stats, Uriel Segura got the start tonight and finished with 16 points connecting on 4 threes. Cameron Johnson finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds but went 0-6 from the free throw line.

The Bobcats will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to Natchitoches to face Northwestern State. Tip off is at 2 P.M. and KTSW will have pregame coverage on 89.9 and ktsw.net at 1:45.

--Robert Fisher, KTSW Sports Staff Writer